Warriors Of The Forest
by Cloudfire Of SunClan
Summary: This is just a made-up story kind of about Warriors, kind of not. It's about 5 friends who have special powers that make them 'warriors' follow along and learn about their lives as Clan girls. Also NO CURSING!
1. Chapter 1

**_INTRODUCTION_**

Hi, I'm Stephanie! I could be considered your typical teenager: weird friends, attitude issues, hate my teachers, love summer, (though strangely I can't stand swimming I know how, but I don't like it) I love summer camp, (Camp Joy El is my favorite) and I have a really active imagination. That is most of the stuff about me, so let's move on to my story. J

MY FRIENDS

Sarrah-Navigating genius

Lizzy-combat perfection

Leah- history nut, and always logical

Autumn-hacker extraordinaire

Me-natural survivor, speedy, and a natural at anything weird

**_INTRODUCTION_**

Hi, I'm Stephanie! I could be considered your typical teenager: weird friends, attitude issues, hate my teachers, love summer, (though strangely I can't stand swimming I know how, but I don't like it) I love summer camp, (Camp Joy El is my favorite) and I have a really active imagination. That is most of the stuff about me, so let's move on to my story.

MY FRIENDS

Sarrah-Navigating genius

Lizzy-combat perfection

Leah- history nut, and always logical

Autumn-hacker extraordinaire

Me-natural survivor, speedy, and a natural at anything weird


	2. Chapter 2

**_Ch 1 How to Get Your Life Ruined In Two Minutes_**

It was the summer before I went into high school. I was on my computer at 9:30, in June, watching a movie when my mom walked in. This usually wouldn't bother me, but I'd been feeling really weird lately and my senses seemed amplified. Also I seemed even better at multitasking, and I'd been having weird dreams. All I'd told my mom was I'd had weird dreams, but I didn't specify. It was always the same. I was seeing a strange symbol. It looked like a cat's head, but in the center was a sun. My friend Sarrah told me to draw it up, so by now I had it memorized. The sad thing was I told her first. I had this weird instinct that I could only trust certain people. My friends had had similar issues so that made me feel slightly better. Sarrah recommended that I listen to my instincts, so I was also feeling guilty about lying to my mom every time she asked if I was ok. I could tell by her face that something was up when she came in my room.

"Okay," I sighed, jokingly. "Who invited us to a party that you insist will be fun, but I'll absolutely hate?" She didn't answer right away, so I was really nervous. "Mom?" She looked at me with this excited stare that made her look like a meat seller with a prime cut. Suddenly, she snapped back to reality.

"I signed you up for school." She told me calmly, "At the Lily Wilderness Academy." I felt like I'd gotten punched.

"WHAT!?" I screeched. "I have friends here, I know my way around the school, and I know who my teachers will be. Now you just want to pack up and move?"

She looked annoyed, "No, you are going to pack up and move to a boarding school where you will learn valuable skills. I will stay here and take care of your sister."

I looked at her, feeling betrayed, she'd promised to keep me in the same school! As she left, I logged into Facebook at rocket speed, calling up Sarrah, Leah, Autumn, and Lizzy. I started typing on Group Chat, and then couldn't help grinning. Our group thing was all caps, all the time.

Steph: MY MOM IS MAKING ME CHANGE SCHOOLS! WHAT THE HECK!

Sarrah: WHAT?!

Leah: WHERE IS SHE SENDING YOU?

Lizzy: YEAH WHERE?!

Steph: LILY WILDERNESS ACADEMY

Leah: OH MY GOSH MY MOM IS SENDING ME THERE TOO!

Autumn: SAME HERE!

Sarrah: HERE TOO!

Steph: WHAT!?

Lizzy: MY MOM SAID SOMETHING ABOUT THAT TO MY DAD.

Sarrah: LET ME GUESS, YOU WERE LISTENING THROUGH THE VENT AGAIN.

Lizzy: KINDA.

Steph: J

Sarrah: XD

Leah: LOL

Autumn: SERIOUSLY?

Steph: OK, SO IF ALL OUR PARENTS ARE SENDING US THERE, THEN THERE MUST BE A REASON. SARRAH, COULD YOU PLEASE CHECK INTO THIS PLACE? ANYONE ELSE, IF YOU THINK IT WOULD WORK, ASK.

Sarrah: ABSOLUTLY. GIVE ME FIVE MINUTES.

Lizzy: UH, MY PARENTS DON'T KNOW I KNOW ABOUT THIS. I'LL JUST WAIT.

Leah: GOT IT.

Autumn: I'LL WAIT.

While we waited, we got on different things. Then, suddenly the weird instinctive pull-there's no other way to say it-hit again. I took Sarrah's advice and listened to it. I shut my Group Chat off, noticing vaguely that all the others had done the same, turned off my computer, and slipped silently downstairs. I saw my sister, Kristin, but I didn't stop. I slipped out the dining room window, out onto the grass. As my eyes adjusted, I noticed that the bush was in sharper focus than it should be, but tried not to catalog that in my mind. I was terrified of the supernatural in general, so I tried to avoid it. I could hear our neighbor's dog, and didn't understand the slight nervousness I felt at the same time. At the same time, my brain seemed to be working a million miles an hour. I could see halfway down the block, I could hear a thousand things at once without the slightest confusion of what was what; suddenly I heard a mouse squeak. The pull or whatever you call it said 'hunt.' My disgust was strong enough to drown that out and I turned my attention to the direction of the pull. As soon as it lead me towards the mouse, I started ignoring it. I slipped back inside and logged back on to Group Chat just in time to see everyone freaking out.

Leah: OMGOSH WHAT WAS THAT? SARRAH, I'M GOING TO GET YOU!

Steph: WHOA THERE WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

Lizzy: SARRAH TOLD US TO LISTEN TO OUR INSTINCTS AND LEAH JUST ABOUT ATTACKED A DOG.

Autumn: PLEASE TELL ME YOU GUYS FELT THAT CREEPY THING TOO!

Lizzy: NO, LEAH'S FREAKING OUT BECAUSE THERE'S A GHOST IN HER BEDROOM! DUH!

Steph: OK CHILL OUT EVERYBODY! NOW!

Leah: HOW CAN YOU TELL ME TO CHILL OUT?! DID YOU JUST ABOUT ATTACK A DOG THAT WAS MINDING ITS OWN BUISNESS!?

Steph: NO I JUST ABOUT ATE A MOUSE! NOW EVERYONE BE QUIET AND STOP YELLING AT SARRAH!

Leah: WHAT?! I'D TAKE MINE OVER THAT!

Sarrah: IS IT SAFE TO RESPOND NOW?

Lizzy: I THINK SO, BUT DON'T COUNT ON THAT.

Autumn: I'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN I STOP FEELING SICK.

Steph: OK IS EVERYONE CHILL NOW?

Lizzy: YEAH WE'RE GOOD.

Steph: OK NOW SARRAH WHAT DID YOU FIND?

Sarrah: NOTHING, THE SITE CRASHED AS SOON AS I FOUND IT.

Steph: NO ONE ELSE GOT ANYTHING?

Leah: SORRY, I WAS TOO BUSY FREAKING OUT.

Steph: OK, SO, WE'RE WALKING INTO THIS TOTALLY BLIND.

Lizzy: WHY DOES THAT SOUND SO OMINOUS?

Leah: WELL PROBABLY BECAUSE WE'VE ALL BEEN HAVING INSTINCTIVE FEELINGS ABOUT EVENTS AND YOUR INSTINCTIVE FEELING IS LIKE WHEN THEY WALK INTO A CREEPY-LOOKING HOUSE IN A HORROR MOVIE.

Steph: A REALLY LONG WAY OF SAYING WE'RE NOT COMFORTABLE WALKING INTO SOMETHING WE HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT.

Autumn: OK WELL I HAVE TO GET OFF.

Sarrah: ME TOO.

Lizzy: SAME

Leah: ME TOO

Steph: OK, WE'LL TALK TOMORROW. UNTIL THEN, WATCH YOUR BACKS AND DON'T ATTACK ANYONE OR ANYTHING.

Sarrah: LOL

Autumn: HAHA

Leah: I DON'T FIND THAT FUNNY.

Lizzy: THAT IS THE STRANGEST THING I HAVE EVER TAKEN SERIOUSLY.

Steph: BYE

As I logged off, I was in a better mood, but I was still scared. What we all felt wasn't just a coincidence, I was sure. What it was, I had no idea. I knew it wasn't normal, of course, but other than that, I was clueless. I hated the very thought of walking into this with no idea what to expect. My instincts were sharper and they hadn't been wrong yet. I just hoped my friends weren't aware of how terrified I really was. I tried to be the strong one of the five, but I was a total coward.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Ch 2 Do We Really Have That Many Issues with Phones?_**

The next day, I refused to speak to my mom. She tried to talk to me and I ignored her. I knew it was childish, but I couldn't really say I cared all that much. If I only had a few weeks at home, I was going show her my opinions. I ignored her as completely as if she didn't exist. I listened to music and watched movies and didn't talk except when I wasn't at home. The next night the same pull came and I decided I didn't want to eat mice, so I ignored it. My friends and I chatted about things other than the strange 'flares' as we'd decided to call them. We all seemed to figure we'd see each other in a few weeks we could discuss things then when we could talk when we were sure no one could hack into our conversation. One day, I was bored out of my mind, so I was thinking about my friends and how much I missed them. Suddenly I had the strangest feeling. I bolted to the computer, logged in and found Leah on Chat. She was the last one I'd been thinking about, which I just thought was a strange coincidence. She seemed calm, so I figured we wouldn't be talking about flares as usual.

Leah: WHAT WERE YOU JUST THINKING ABOUT?

What the heck kind of question is that? I wondered to myself.

Steph: WHY?

Leah: BECAUSE I JUST HEARD YOUR VOICE IN MY HEAD, SO EITHER I'M GOING CRAZY, OR YOU JUST FIGURED OUT A NEW FLARE ISSUE.

Steph: WHY AM I SO HOPING FOR THE CRAZY OPTION?

Leah: DO WHAT YOU WERE DOING BEFORE, BUT THINK SOMETHING DEFINITE.

Steph: UH… OK?

I quickly focused on Leah's face the way I had before, but this time I specifically thought the words _I am so NOT looking forward to this new school. _Almost instantly, her response scrolled across the screen

Leah: WERE YOU THINKING 'I AM SO NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS NEW SCHOOL'?

Steph: YES. THAT WAS IT TO THE LETTER.

Leah: OHMYGOSH WE CAN COMMUNICATE BY THOUGHT!

Steph: OK CHILL IT. YOU TRY, PICTURE MY FACE AND THINK WORDS.

Leah: OK

I was totally excited. This was EXACTLY what we needed, a way to communicate without being overheard. Leah's voice sounded in my head. _Can you hear this? _My fingers flew across the keyboard.

Steph: LOUD AND CLEAR.

Leah: OK DON'T TELL THE OTHERS TILL TONIGHT'S CHAT. WE DON'T WANT THEM TO FREAK OUT IN FRONT OF SOMEONE.

Steph: GOOD IDEA. DID I DO THAT TO YOU?

Leah: NO WE GOT LUCKY. I WAS IN MY ROOM, AND THEN I TRIED NOT TO SCREAM WHEN I HEARD YOU. ACTUALLY MY REACTION TO SOMETHING WEIRD ANYMORE IS TO FREEZE AND THEN GET ON CHAT.

Steph: LOL ME TOO.

Leah: OK SO LATER, NORMAL TIME?

Steph: YES. TTYL.

Leah: TILL THEN.

As I logged off, I tried not to think about my friends, knowing I didn't dare freak them out in front of adults who might get interested. I turned on music till it was time to chat. I spoke first.

Steph: FIRST OFF, LEAH AND I FIGURED SOMETHING OUT ACCIDENTLY TODAY. NO ONE FREAK OUT. IF YOU THINK YOU WILL, CLOSE YOUR DOORS NOW.

Sarrah: DO YOU REALLY HAVE SO LITTLE FAITH IN US?

Steph: JUST FOR THAT, YOU FIRST.

Almost automatically, I sent her the words _are you still so smug? _Her response was priceless.

Sarrah: AAAAHHHHHHH GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

Leah: WOW EVEN I DIDN'T FREAK OUT THAT MUCH! XD

Lizzy: LEAH SHOWED ME AND AUTUMN WHILE SARRAH WAS FREAKING OUT.

Autumn: THAT WAS SOO COOL! TELL US HOW!

Leah: JUST PICTURE THE PERSON YOU WANT TO HEAR YOU, AND THINK THE WORDS.

Steph: SO SHOULD WE START USING THAT SYSTEM TO TALK TO EACH OTHER? IT'S MORE PRIVATE.

Leah: DID WE TRY A GROUP YET?

Lizzy: LET ME TRY! LET ME TRY!

Sarrah: BE MY GUEST.

Almost instantly I heard Lizzy's voice: _Am I doing this right? _I sent my response by thought _Well, I can hear you, so I'm assuming you did it right. Can everyone hear me?_

_Yes, _came the unison reply.

_Well this rocks. _Thought Sarrah, summing things up pretty accurately.

Okay, so from now on, we use this method of communication. Agreed? I thought to the group.

_Yes, we can all do this and what the heck do we call it? _Wondered Leah.

_Um…_Was Lizzy's brilliant answer.

I considered this problem for a moment, and then finally thought_ OK, how about this. We all think this over and try to come up with a title or a name for, uh, this. We'll decide tomorrow, or whenever someone gets inspiration. Everyone good with that?_

_OK _Came the unison answer

_What just dawned on me is exactly how freaky this group of friends is. Is that sad or what? _Lizzy thought.

_Two things, 1.) Yes that is sad 2.) I need to go, so I'll talk to you fellow freaks tomorrow. _I knew I needed sleep, but I wanted to talk to my friends more than ever.

_Alright bye, _came the sad, unison response.

I fell asleep quickly; I'd stayed up late the night before, and had been running most of the day on adrenaline. The only dream was t he usual. I was in the woods, and I was following the symbol, trying to catch it. I almost had it when I woke up. I almost screamed with annoyance, but remembered that my mom couldn't know about all my flares and dreams.

My friends and I had agreed on that from the very beginning. I was terrified about the start of school now for two reasons 1.) I had no idea what I was getting into and 2.)My friends and I had no idea if our flares changed our appearances. _OH yeah that would go over great huh Steph? In the middle of class, you look like a mutant._ I thought to myself in annoyance. I waited till noon, hoping my friends were awake. Then I thought carefully _Good morning freaky friends! _

The response was fast._ Hi! _The others thought in unison. _OK you guys have to have practiced that thinking in unison thing when I wasn't around, it's perfect, _I thought teasingly

_LOL_ was Sarrah's bright reply.

_OK Any ideas on what to call this? We need something normal that we can say without someone asking questions. _I tried to sound calm, cool, and collected and I think I failed.

_I was thinking something like a color. Uh, magenta? _ Lizzy offered hesitantly.

_Well that's better than my idea. Mine was you think 'hey everyone on' and start talking. _Sarrah thought laughingly.

_Ha-ha _came Autumn's annoyed response.

_OK guys. Hey wait a sec. Did anyone notice that only girls are in this group? _Leah's voice came through my thoughts clearly and they were simple, yet they silenced everyone. Finally Lizzy spoke up.

_Best girls group ever! We're all connected! Like the Clan cats in Warriors! _She called in thoughts.

_Beg to differ, _groaned Autumn.

_Hang on a second. CLAN that's it! _I yelled in thoughts.

_OW! We're right here, you don't need to yell! _Leah practically yelped in my head.

Oh the irony in that. Joked Lizzy.

_Also what the heck are you talking about? _Asked Autumn.

_Uh, what she said. _ Added Sarrah.

_Huh? _Lizzy chimed in, my words catching up to her mind.

_We've been looking for a word to describe us right? Like a flock, a pack, or a club? _I asked excitement in my tone.

_Uh yeah _answered Leah.

_I keep seeing something like a Warriors symbol in my dreams. We can be like the Warriors. _I explained as fast as my thoughts would go without stumbling over words.

_Any objections? _ Asked Sarrah.

_No one _was Leah's comment a few seconds later.

_Ok then Clanmates, we'll talk tonight._ Sarrah said calmly.

_TTYL bye! _This time everyone was in unison.

_This is so awesome!_ I thought gleefully. I was so excited; I almost slipped up at lunch. I was totally lost in my own thoughts so when my mom asked what I was thinking about, not only did I almost answer, I almost told her the truth! Instead of answering, I amused myself by giving her a glare that would make -985 degrees Fahrenheit seem like 2000. I think she finally got the point that I was annoyed with her because she didn't try talking to me again that day, just gave me orders. When we got home, she said simply "Go to your room, and don't come out." I continued to ignore her and went to the living room. I logged on to Facebook and left a post 'I AM IN SSOOO MUCH TROUBLE!' I was annoyed and lost track of time, so when it came time to chat with the Clan I was watching a movie. I didn't jump, but calmly thought _one moment please, need to get away from mother. _Instantly, everyone shut up. I quickly got up and went upstairs to my room. I closed the door, and luckily I was annoyed and my family knew to leave me alone when I was in a bad mood. Just for good measure, I barricaded the door with my dresser.

_Ok all good, sorry about that. _I thought quickly.

_Please tell me you didn't freak out in front of your family! _Groaned Leah in horror.

_I didn't even blink. _I answered reassuringly.

_Okay good. _Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

_OK Clan girls, did anyone find ANYTHING about this Lily place? _ Asked Autumn, in a businesslike tone.

_No I'm not talking to my mom and I wouldn't put it past her to check my computer history. I have GOT to change my password. _I answered miserably.

_There's some kind of virus on the site, because I checked it and it shut my computer off. _Leah's tone was somewhere between annoyed and scared.

_I give up! I tried and my computer doesn't even work anymore. _Groaned Sarrah, interrupting Leah.

_My mom uses the history on my computer and she'll know if I look it up, plus she doesn't know that I know about this place. _Lizzy's tone was annoyed, _I'm kinda useless. Sorry._

_That's ok Lizzy don't blow your cover. _I told her calmly.

_Alright, all I've got is a starting date, June 28. _Leah said coolly, adding on to what she'd said before. I could hear the undercurrent of fear in her tone.

_ Uh Leah? That's freaking tomorrow! _Sarrah screamed. The babble of voices in my head made me dizzy as they all spoke over each other.

_OK EVERYONE SHUP IT SO WE CAN FIGURE THIS OUT! _I yelled at the top of my voice.

_OWW! _Came the annoyed response.

_Okay, is everyone chill now? _I asked in a calm tone, trying to calm the others

_No, this instinct thing is about making me sick with fear! _Yelped Autumn, her fear strong in her voice.

_OK first off, let's all calm down and list what we DO know. _Leah told everyone, taking command smoothly.

_Someone write this down, but don' let the paper out of your sight. _Lizzy said in a more relaxed tone.

_I'm on it. _I said quickly. I whipped out a notebook that was small enough to carry in my pocket that I already took everywhere. _Alright shoot._

_Ok #1 the name is Lily Wilderness Academy. _Sarrah said sounding more relaxed now that we were doing something.

_#2 all our parents are sending us there. _Added Lizzy.

_#3 my mom said something about 'valuable skills' does that mean anything to you girls? _I put in, thinking back to what my mom had said about the school.

_Negative. _Leah said, confusion and annoyance layering her tone.

_No. _Sarrah answered, sounding distracted.

_Nada. _Lizzy said simply.

_Nothing. _Autumn answered sadly, _but we can assume it's something survival training._

_Uh…how do you come to that conclusion? _I asked, obviously voicing the others' confusion. Autumn's response made me feel like an idiot.

_Because it's called a 'wilderness academy' odds are that means we'll be learning about the wilderness. _She said_ is it that hard to figure that out?_

_No, I'm apparently just an idiot._ I answered.

_No, _argued Sarrah, _we were all just trying to think ahead for more things we DO know versus what we DON'T, which, just in case someone forgot, is exactly what we're getting into!_

_No one forgot Sarrah, _I said, trying to sound reassuring. I failed badly. _We were trying to ignore that fact, because we'll be tense enough as it is and we need to at least TRY to blend in tomorrow._

_We will never pass for NORMAL, _Leah moaned, sounding scared to death. _Anyone will see through us in a microsecond!_

_Leah, Leah, chill out. _Autumn said quickly, _we're all terrified, but we MUST chill. If we're calm, we'll blend much better than if we're panicked. Try counting._

_Gee thanks! _Leah snapped, bitingly sarcastic. _That will go over great if we all go to school and know each other, and are weird too! They'll see through us faster than you can say 'uh-oh'! _

_Wait, _Lizzy said suddenly _Leah you have a point. If we all meet up, we'll look conspicuous. We need to act the way strangers would in a new school. Like we don't know each other. None of our parents have seen pictures of the others, right?_

_Mostly right. _Sarrah answered. _Steph and my parents already know each other. Leah and Autumn are old friends. Waterlight, uh, you can be with me, and I'll 'introduce' you to Steph. Everyone with a buddy, no matter what. You never, ever, ever leave your Clanmate behind. Got it?_

_Got it. _Again with the unison thing.

_OK so at school, we don't know each other. We have just enough connections that it isn't noticeable, but we can still be a Clan, and we'll still communicate by thought at night. _I quickly went back over what we had._ Right?_

_Right. _Answered Autumn. _But, we still be polite, no matter what._

_Alright, Clan girls, Operation Lily starts first thing tomorrow. Everyone get a good night's sleep. _Lizzy said.

_Sleep? Are you kidding me? I'm so tense, I can't SIT let alone SLEEP! _I swear my voice squeaked in fear, as I paced around my room.

_Okay well good night everyone. _Autumn said.

_Good night _said everyone casually. Unison was usual now. It was kind of cliché but we were totally used to it.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Ch 3 The First Day of School Was Never So Stressful._**

The next day my mom got me up around 6:00 A.M. I would've been sarcastic and annoying, but I was actually looking forward to seeing the Clan. She insisted that I only needed myself, but I'd gotten a pocket knife without her knowing. I'd never intended to hurt anyone, and I still didn't. It was like pepper spray. You carry it around just in case; I slipped it carefully into my pocket when she wasn't looking along with the notebook where I wrote everything down. I figured I could use the pocket knife along with my limited knowledge of herbs and maybe I could do something, the notebook, I just refused to leave. I also took my voice recorder to listen to music on the way. I wore my only camouflage: a t-shirt, pants, and hat. I also wore the combat boots I'd sworn up and down that I would wear.

When we finally left, I turned on the voice recorder. I refused to listen to a word my mother said and still wouldn't respond. On the way, I sent a quick mental message to my Clanmates. _Girls, don't respond, just listen. When we get there, we have no idea that everyone else was coming. We just act surprised and remember: you only know your assigned buddy. Assuming everything goes according to plan, we'll gradually 'get to know' the others. Everyone remember that._

As soon as I finished the message, I went back to music. I was in the middle of a song when I saw my mom point out the window. I looked up casually. What I saw seemed like a nightmare scene. The 'school' looked like a prison camp. I pretended I didn't see it, but quickly slipped the earphones and recorder back into my pocket. I had the strangest feeling I would need them later, though it wasn't the same as the other instinctive pulls, so it may have been my imagination.

As soon as the car stopped, I was out. I walked quickly, ignoring my mother as she yelled at me to wait up. I could have easily found Sarrah, but my instinct was stay away for now. I saw out of the corner of my eye, a flash of color, letters on a building. I headed toward the building which said ORIENTATION in huge yellow letters. The rest of the building was camouflage, so the writing really stood out. A snatch of conversation caught my attention, but not for long, I could easily tell I was mid-flare this time. I could hear specific voices, and when I matched them up with people, they were 10 feet away minimum! I could hear the regular voices too, but those stood out. My instincts were in full-blast. They were practically screaming at me. **_RUN! _**I quickly stepped into the bushes, prepared to run, but Sarrah's words came back to haunt me. **_'You never leave your Clanmate behind.' _**The words jarred me back to reality, and I slipped back into the throng of new students. I found Sarrah in seconds, but hesitated, watching her face. Just by the look on her face, I could easily tell she'd felt the instinct thing too. I watched her like I was trying to figure out if I knew her. Finally, I darted nimbly through the crowd. I called her name and she turned questioningly. "Well, you're either Sarrah, or her twin." I said, trying to sound like a new girl: hopeful that I could find someone I knew, and slightly shy. Her answering grin was ecstatic. "Stephanie, what, when, how? You know what, I don't care. AAHH!" We hugged quickly and I squealed in the same excited/shocked tone. "Oh my gosh, this is SO cool! This just flat-out ROCKS! We're going to school together! Isn't this COOL?" When I finally stopped to catch my breath, she nodded, looking perfectly in character. Right about then we got called inside.

Suddenly Leah called in thoughts _you guys felt that a while ago too right?_

_Yes, but I thought we agreed not to talk during the day! _I called back, annoyed.

_Sorry, I couldn't wait any longer. _Leah's tone was terrified.

_Ok, but not again, got it? _Sarrah said quickly, and then we went back to babbling about movies we'd seen. Then, we met the principal.

**_ALL RIGHT YOU NEWBIES THE FIRST AND ONLY THING YOU NEED TO LEARN HERE IS FOLLOW ORDERS! IF YOU DO NOT, YOU GET SENT INTO THE WOODS OUT BACK AND WE WILL USE YOU FOR TARGET PRACTICE! NOW GO TO THE TABLE TO GET YOUR ASSIGNED ROOM AND DORM, THEY WILL BE ORDERED ALPHABETICALLY BY LAST NAME! NOW GO GO GO!_**

We all scurried to the table. Sarrah, Leah and I were in the same line. Lizzy and Autumn were in the other. I quickly turned to Sarrah, pretending I didn't know Leah, as agreed. I didn't, however, have to pretend to look terrified.

"Do you think he was serious?" I asked in a horrified whisper. Sarrah's response wasn't as encouraging as I had hoped.

"I don't know Steph. I hope not, because I fail at following directions." She whispered, fear flickering in her eyes. We both knew Leah was listening, but we pretended not to notice her presence.

When it was my turn, I managed to yell my name and get my dorm letter and room number. Sarrah and I were right next to each other, and Leah was only a few rooms down the hall. Autumn and Waterlight were also next to each other and they quickly agreed to watch out for each other. At the desk they also gave out camouflage duffel bags with clothes in; the school uniform, I guessed, and a camouflage backpack. That one none of us had guesses on. The uniform, I could live with. Camouflage t-shirt, pants, and combat boots! That was creepy. There were also places for small objects along the waist so my knife, notebook, and recorder fit nicely.

During the next few weeks, Leah read up on the history of the school, Autumn hacked into whatever she could, Lizzy was the teacher's pet, using her own style altogether, Sarrah studied all the maps and found ways out of the school, to home, and all around, and I learned everything I could about surviving in the wilderness. Autumn had been right: that was what they taught at this school. They gave classes about healing plants, finding water, and navigating. We'd already planned everything out, and I knew I would need all my friends if we decided to run. I hoped it wouldn't come to that, but the teachers were serious. The punishments included no dinner, no water, getting locked up in a small cage, spending a night outside, solo, and a 10-mile-hike through a swamp. We all tried to avoid trouble, but this one group of girls was out to get me. They pulled their final stunt during the written test.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Ch 4 Worst Detention Ever!_**

They suddenly yelled during the middle of the only written test of the semester "Mr. Blake, Steph's cheating off my test! She keeps looking over and copying my answers!" I looked up at the sound of my name, but I hadn't heard what they said because I'd been finishing an answer.

Mr. Blake looked at me accusingly "well, did you?" I looked at him blankly. He grabbed my arm and yanked me to the office. While he explained to the principal what had happened, I got caught up. As soon as he stopped, I spoke up "I was not cheating, I didn't speak up before, but I will now. I didn't hear what they said because I was focusing on MY test. If hers says the same thing…" I suddenly broke off because they looked like storm clouds.

The principal (he never told us his name) spoke "**_HOW DARE YOU TALK BACK TO US! YOU WILL BE SENT TO THE WOODS FOR YOUR DISOBEDIENCE!"_**

I was sure I was radiating terror, but since I was already in trouble, I spoke again "So do you really use kids as target practice?"

He glared at me and nodded. Then he handed me a piece of paper. It read:

Pack your backpack with anything you wish to keep, and then meet us at the woods entrance in 5 minutes.

I darted to my room, gathered clothes and shoes and shoved them into my backpack. Tears were streaming down my face, but I was determined to survive with some dignity. I wiped away the tears, and grabbed my book of plants and the complimentary minicomputer they gave you on the way in. I probably won't use it much, I thought, but whatever. As soon as I was packed, I bolted for the woods. They had gathered the entire school to watch my humiliation. I was panting, but I had enough common sense that while they were insulting me, I scanned the forest, checking for an escape. I saw a mound of dirt and figured out a plan to make it that far. After that, I could use it for cover.

Suddenly the Principal gave me a shove; he said "**_YOU_** **_HAVE FIVE SECONDS BEFORE I TELL THEM TO OPEN FIRE! GO!"_** I didn't hesitate, I bolted. I could only vaguely catalog the natural beauty as I ran for my life. I didn't stop at the dirt, I kept going. I also noticed vaguely how **_easy _**running was. I was dodging trees, ducking, jumping, everything you could think of but I moved with ease. I felt like I'd been **_born _**for this. I continued running until I estimated I was about a mile in. I found a bush that seemed like a good place to set up camp. It was in a thick grove of trees, and it was hard to get to. I pulled out my knife and chopped until I was under the bush, then gathered branches and set them in the ground to look like a natural wall. My Clanmates had a private chat that night and didn't include me, so I couldn't hear them. Basically, I was totally alone without the comfort of even a few friends. **_This is why you don't depend on your friends, Steph. This isn't Warriors; you don't always have the company of a Clan. _**I knew it was mean to think of my friends that way, but the least they could've done is a mental communication.

That night was terrible. It didn't rain, but that is about the only thing that DIDN'T go wrong. It was hot, muggy, and annoying. I didn't sleep at all so I spent the night freaking out, listening to wild animal sounds, and generally being lonely.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Ch 5 Best Friends Ever! Bu t Are You Girls Nuts?_**

The next day I spied on the daily hike. I saw Leah, Lizzy, Autumn, and Sarrah, and was about to leave when-at no visible signal- Leah and Autumn slipped off the trail. It was a bad part, all uphill. I quickly could see that they wouldn't make it without help. On instinct, I crouched, sliding silently down the hill just enough to grab a small bush, pull it from the ground, and send it down the hill. The other two grabbed it and hid just in time. As a teacher walked down the trail, I froze. I had camouflage clothes, but that wasn't saying much out here. As soon as he left, I slid down the rest of the hill to my friends.

"What the heck are you two doing?!" I hissed, sliding down next to them. The both jumped about a foot in the air at the sound of my voice.

"Trying to see if you're okay!" Leah grinned.

"Also refusing to let you out here all alone. Come on, what are Clanmates for?" Autumn added.

"Is it safe to assume you all planned this last night?" I asked, trying to sound annoyed.

"Yep," Leah answered smugly.

"You two know that you'll be in HUGE trouble, right?" I demanded, trying to make them go back. Autumn's face stopped my argument.

"They probably won't even look for us, Steph" she said miserably. "We planned all this so we could all leave. They called your mom and we'd flared at the same time so we could hear both ends of the conversation. Weird coincidence. They told your mom 'mission accomplished' and she seemed happy. They said something about getting the rest of them, and then called our parents. They asked how they wanted us 'dealt with' our parents said 'in any way possible' they sent us here to be terminated! We're just shortening the process."

"I'm not sure whether to laugh, cry, or punch something." I admitted. Leah had been quiet all through this conversation, but now she spoke up.

"We need to find a more secure spot to hide, and then we can talk," she said nodding to the trail, "they're coming."

I quickly led them up to my camp under the bush. Leah smiled at my setup. Autumn looked nervous.

"What else aren't you two telling me?" I asked cautiously. I'd already underestimated them a lot and that was just today. They glanced at each other. Then Leah spoke, her tone casual.

"We're just the first round, Lizzy is going to get in trouble, then we can call for Sarrah to join us whenever."

I almost passed out.

"OK let me get this straight. Lizzy and Sarrah have to get out yet, and then we're all just going to sneak out of a highly guarded prison school, and do precisely what? You already said we can't go home!" I said, my tone horrified.

"We're going to stick together. Plus, you missed something crucial." Leah answered, almost hiding the excitement in her tone.

"What did I miss?" I asked, now catching the excitement.

"We're going to steal our files from this school, and hopefully we'll find something about what exactly is happening to us." Autumn answered finally, trying to hide her fear. I was stunned.

"That HAD to be Lizzy's idea," I managed finally. The others grinned in a psycho way that said 'you just can't be sure'. Then they gave me a glance that held a simple question: Are you in? My answer was quick and absolute.

"YES! I'm so definitely in!" I said happily. Leah and Autumn smiled with relief.

"OK let's tell Sarrah and Lizzy that it's going down tomorrow night." Leah said.

"Why not tonight?" I asked.

Autumn answered calmly and coolly, "Because we need time to prepare. We can't exactly barge in there without a plan."

"Man, I really hope you studied up on this." I said, glancing at Autumn.

"If by 'studied' you mean hacked into the map and figured out where they keep the records, then yes. If you mean something else, then my definite 'yes' is changed to 'probably.'" She answered calmly, focusing on the rocks in her hand as she tried to start a fire.

"Wait! Don't do that!" I hissed suddenly, looking at the sparks, as I grabbed her wrist gently, stopping the striking movement.

"What, why?" Autumn demanded.

"They'll see the light and they might come and find us!" I answered in a panicked tone.

"OK OK chill, I'll stop!" Autumn whispered, seeing sense in my words. As soon as she stopped, I relaxed.

"OK let's go spy on some teachers." Leah said with a dangerous grin.

We snuck off, slipping silently through the shadows. My muscles were like liquid darkness, and power. My night vision was perfect, my hearing sharp. With a single glance, I could see the others felt the same. Leah had told Sarrah and Lizzy about the escape tomorrow night, and given them a basic update. We were totally awake and tense.

The other four had started packing the day before, so they'd brought actual survival kits. Leah had 5 sleeping bags, and a bunch of first aid kits. My guess was they'd snuck out the night before and stolen what they needed. Leah mentioned that knives were on Lizzy, which wasn't exactly a comforting thought. Lizzy+knives=disaster. Autumn had grabbed canned food, and bottled water. I had my survival skills, a plant book, and a wacky bunch of friends. I also had my watch, so I could look at the time whenever something happened. Autumn had also hacked into some blueprints, so it would be pathetically easy to get in and out. Unfortunately, people don't show up on blueprints, so we'd have to watch that. The only thing we needed to watch was when they changed shift for guards at 2:30.

At dawn, we crept to the edge of the forest, laying a trail for Waterlight to follow to find us, as agreed. Our agreement was we all had to bring clothes and shoes for ourselves, something to share (food, water, sleeping bags, knives, ect.) and our own skills. I was scared half out of my skin, but I stayed as calm as I could.

At 10:00 we heard the principal's booming voice that actually **_hurt _**our ears. We all glanced at each other. I could tell that the others felt the same. Leah covered her ears, grimacing. Autumn flinched and covered her ears too, but I waited. When I heard him say something about 5 seconds to run, I quickly gestured to the other girls that it was time to go. They gathered their things, putting on their backpacks, and got ready to run. As soon as Lizzy made it to our spot, we all took off. We'd agreed to meet Sarrah at the bend in the trail. We all hid, with me closest to the trail. I seemed best at hiding so I was closest if Sarrah needed help with anything. Her job was to bring compasses and navigation equipment that was as compact as possible. As soon as I saw the front of the line, I gave the signal. (Our agreed signal was a two-fingered salute that instead of dropping your arm, you ended in a peace sign.)Leah passed it back the line, and Lizzy grinned, passing it back. Sarrah slowed as she passed my hiding place, waiting, NOW! She ducked down into the brush beside me and I handed her some branches to hide behind. As the line passed, I shivered in terror; luckily the wind blew at the same time, so no one would notice the shaking branches. As soon as the last teacher left, passing us by on the trail, we slipped farther back into the brush. As we all gathered, there were grins and whispered congratulations all around. We all felt more complete with all our Clan here together. Now to wait till nighttime, then the **_real_** excitement began.

That evening, we all slipped to the building that they used to hold the files. My heart was pounding a mile a minute and since we seemed in a constant flare, I was sure the others could hear it. As soon as the guard shifted, Leah, Autumn, and I all sneaked carefully in the door. Leah was a guard, I was a carrier, and Autumn was just around in case we needed to hack into anything. Sarrah and Lizzy were outside guards and would tell us if anything was different than the schedule we left them with. As we slipped inside, my instincts told me clearly which way to go. _Left…right… left again…through the door… dodge the guard… and IN! _As soon as we were in the room Autumn darted to the paper files, but something led me to the dark bookcase. Almost without thinking about it, I pictured my friends one by one and my fingers darted to the books that seemed to jump into my hands. I slipped them into my backpack and was about to leave when I realized I had 4 not 5. I quickly pictured my own face and this time the book really _did _jump into my hands. I stuck it in my backpack and darted over to help Autumn with the files. She had hers, mine, Leah's, and Sarrah's, but she couldn't find Lizzy's I slipped a hand into another file and pulled out the one that had been jammed inside. I could see the name clearly and it was the right one. We slipped out the door, scared Leah half to death, and darted across the small open space to our Clanmates.

Sarrah instantly took charge. She led us neatly through the woods to a small road. We all knew the plan and were ready to go. There was a truck that came here and left every day at the same time. We weren't going to interfere; we were just going to hitch a ride. When it slowed, we ran. It had unloaded, so we just slipped into empty crates in the back. A few minutes later, I could feel that we were out. Freedom was a nice feeling compared to feeling like running every two seconds.

We got off right on schedule, in the middle of nowhere. We quickly slid into the undergrowth with lithe movements, barely rustling a branch. We hurriedly sorted out supplies. Leah handed out first aid kits and sleeping bags, Autumn handed out the food and water. Lizzy passed out knives to anyone that didn't own one. Sarrah handed out compasses and maps. She kept the most advanced stuff because we wouldn't be able to figure it out. I waited till everyone was done, then pulled out the files. I glanced at the names and easily passed them out, keeping mine. We all skimmed ours and I felt a sting of betrayal when I looked at the section that said 'Acquired' It said my mom wanted to get rid of me for good, so she sent me to a prison/kill camp for 'Warriors.' Does. Not. Compute. Then Leah spoke, breaking my thoughts.

"Uh…does anyone else's say something about Warriors?" She asked in a confused tone.

I nodded, wordless. The others nodded too. Then Sarrah asked the question that I was too much of a chicken to ask.

"So is that what we are? Not human? Warrior? What does that even mean? The only Warriors I know about are cats." She said nervously.

"Sarrah, if I knew what was going on, I would be freaking out a LOT less right now." I said, my three sleepless nights caching up to me all at once and making my head spin. Lizzy caught on quick.

"Girls how about we sleep here tonight and we can start off again tomorrow? We're all exhausted, and we all should try to stay in top form." She suggested calmly. The others all glanced at me.

I shook my head stubbornly "we aren't stopping because I'm being a weakling," I snapped in annoyance, forcing myself into wakefulness. "I can keep going."

Sarrah took one look at me then answered coolly "Steph, I know where to find sleeping herbs and I will not hesitate to use them."

I groaned in annoyance. "You girls are NOT being fair." I complained. Autumn gave a laugh with no humor.

"Uh… did you miss our situation? Life is not fair. We're a group of teenage girls with minimal survival skills, living by ourselves, possibly not human, and stealing from schools! Don't even START on fair, Steph!" Autumn answered, annoyance layering her tone. I glanced at her and she stared at the ground. I decided to be good and get to sleep. I pulled out the sleeping bag Leah had grabbed for me and the others started unpacking. I glanced at the others and asked a simple question.

"Can we do guard shifts, or is everyone going to sleep?"

Lizzy was the only one who hadn't gotten her stuff out to sleep. She moved to the center of the clearing and answered calmly.

"We'll do who has had sleep in the last few days. I'll do now and then Sarrah can take over when I get tired. OK?" Sarrah nodded. I managed a quick grin, rolled over and went to sleep almost at once.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Ch 6 Books_**

The next morning, I remembered the books. As I woke up, I glanced over toward my backpack, sitting neatly with the others' packs I nodded to Sarrah and I quickly got up and walked over to the packs. As I opened the top flap, I could tell these books were something special. The first one I touched somehow reminded me of Leah. Acting on instinct, I sat the book next to her sleeping figure. Sarrah was watching with interest now, as I pulled out the next one. This one was definitely Lizzy's. I did the same for her that I'd done for Leah, sat it next to her. The next was Sarrah's so I just handed it to her. She looked at it, and then closed her eyes. I watched in fascination as she focused and the book opened without her touching it. I quickly brought out Autumn's and sat it next to her, then looked at mine. It almost instantly jumped from my bag to my hand, even though I was at least 5 feet away from it. I glanced at Sarrah who was watching me with a stunned expression. I carefully pictured it opening and it seemed to _want _to listen to me. I used my newfound ability to flip about 3 pages until I found a section about Warriors. I quickly told Sarrah about the section, the author's idea of an introduction, and started reading to myself.

"A Warrior is the average term for anyone with Clan heritage. Odds are if you are reading this, you are one. Most Warrior kits aren't raised in the Clan and therefore must fend for themselves. If they are taken in, it is either by Twolegs or by vampires. Both of these are bad. If the Clan kits are raised by Twolegs, they usually don't even realize who or what they are. If they are raised by vampires, that's even worse. They will start flaring and the vampires will figure it out. They have multiple 'schools' where they send the Clan kits before they find out exactly what they can do. There, the kits will be involved in a tragic 'accident.' The kits will be killed and the vampires will be glad to get rid of them. This book was written to tell you about your heritage and how to use your many powers. Flip to page 1 and let's get started!"

It wasn't a chapter or even a page, but I was stunned. We were **_Warriors? _**That should have made more sense, but it just didn't compute. Sarrah finished reading and she appeared just as stunned as I was. I quickly focused; the others would be annoyed if we went too far without telling them. I quickly closed my book, practicing the telekinetic ability. Sarrah did the same. Then, as we waited for the others to wake up, we practiced on things other than our books. I tried for distance and mass. I was getting medium-sized rocks 20 feet away when the other girls finally woke up. Autumn glanced at the books and then at me. She stated the obvious.

"This is what you grabbed from the shelf when we took the files." She said in a tone that said that it wasn't a question. I nodded to her calmly. Sarrah was practically jumping with excitement.

"Turn to the introduction, there's something you guys seriously need to see." She rattled off so fast; I'm surprised anyone could understand her. The other girls looked at her like she was nuts, but hurriedly obeyed. Leah finished first.

"Vampires? Are you kidding?" She asked in a tone that was completely annoyed, but slightly scared too, "You expect me to believe that my mom and dad aren't really my parents, and they're **_vampires?!"_** I just looked at her for a minute.

"I don't know what to believe," I answered finally. "What I do know is we need to read through these things and figure out if they're true. On top of that, we need to survive, on our own, in the wilderness, and according to these, we can't go home. We're all each others' got." My words rang true and I expected protests, but everyone nodded. We all ate and started moving. We made pretty good time, considering we were five untrained Warriors who had never been on our own before.

When we stopped for lunch, I got my book out and turned to page 1. I skimmed the first pages that were all about the 4 Clans: SunClan, brave, loyal, strong, agile, good in the forest. StormClan: fastest Clan, loyal, though quick to flee, better with open land. StreamClan: the only Clan that would swim, and the best fishers. ShadeClan: wily, proud, the best Clan at hunting at night, marsh territory, and the one that you _don't_ want to mess with. Overall, I liked the sound of SunClan the best. The next pages were the Clan symbols. I took one look at SunClan's symbol and nearly jumped a foot in the air.

"HOLY CROW THIS IS IT!" I half yelled, before wincing. Stupid flare. The others flinched in annoyance, covering their ears.

"What?" asked Leah when she moved her hand. She sounded super annoyed. The others' faces mirrored her tone.

"This is the symbol that I've been dreaming about, but had no idea what it was!" I said, quieter, but still excited. Sarrah understood in seconds. She glanced at my book then frowned.  
"I see a blank page," she said, sounding confused. She quickly pulled hers out. "What page?" she asked curiously.

"Page 6, why?" I answered. As she flipped pages, they blurred, but her hands didn't move. She held out her book and this time I saw a blank page. "You see it in your book, right?" I asked, catching on. She nodded.

"What?" Leah's tone was blank. I quickly explained that we could only see our own books.

"Some kind of privacy guarantee thing I guess." I finished, excited. "Everyone read their own."

"Uh…check page 11," Lizzy said. I flipped there quickly, scared by the nervous undercurrent in her voice.

"Warriors can only be friends with their Clanmates." I read hurriedly. "You're thinking what if we aren't in the same Clan, aren't you? Lizzy nodded.

"Page 22" said Leah suddenly. We all flipped there. "Your Clan element" she read swiftly. "Mine says 'fire' what about you girls?" I skimmed as the others said fire all at once. Then I found mine.

"Fire here, too," I answered quickly, grinning with relief. "I guess we are Clanmates, huh?" Everyone grinned, happy to know we were together.


	8. Chapter 8

**_Ch 7 Names Are Strange Things. _**

I flipped backwards swiftly on instinct, stopping on the 'this book belongs to' page. There had been a blank line, but fire suddenly glowed across the page, leaving a shimmering word as it dulled down. Now on the line it said clearly 'Cloudfire' on the line. A vague flash of memory flickered through me, I was in the middle of a field and I saw a lady that I somehow knew her name to be Snowstripe: she had night dark hair, except for one streak of pure white straight down the back, and she had fire golden eyes. She looked at me in the memory, and called me a name, I knew to be mine. 'Cloudkit when you turn 14, your life will get strange. I just hope you have friends from our Clan to help you. You should be able to find Flowerkit, Silverkit, Autumnkit, and Waterkit. Good luck!' She turned and left and I suddenly snapped back to the present. Everyone was looking at the same page and they had blank looks on their faces. I waited patiently. Leah snapped back to the present next and looked at me.

"Cloudkit, right?" she asked. I nodded.

"Flowerkit?" I asked hesitantly. She grinned and nodded. I glanced at the others as they snapped back. I called them by Clan names. "Waterkit? Silverkit? Autumnkit?" Lizzy, Sarrah, Autumn. "Okay, our kit names were in our memories, now what do your books say about names? Mine says Cloudfire."

"Flowerleaf" answered Leah, excited.

"Autumnlily"Autumn said brightly.

"Silverfire" Sarrah answered proudly.

"Waterlight" Lizzy said in an excited tone that made her seem unnaturally girly.

"OK can everyone remember those?" I asked quickly. "If we can, let's just use Clan names. They're pretty original, so it should be easy to remember." Flowerleaf, Waterlight, and Silverfire grinned.

"Easy. This will be a piece of cake, Cloudfire." Autumnlily answered easily.

"If you say so" I said lightly. "Stick to Warrior names unless we're around normal Twolegs. Also don't use Warrior terminology unless you're with other Warriors, which basically means 'unless you're with us don't talk like a Clan cat.' Got it?" Everyone nodded. "For now, let's just study what we can do, power wise. After that, when we learn to control our powers, we can go back to a normal town. We can be adopted sisters or something." I thought about that and grinned. "I feel bad for any teacher that has to deal with us all together." Flowerleaf nodded her agreement.

"Until then," Silverfire continued "we should also figure out about any Warrior transportation, because we're currently stuck in the middle of nowhere." Waterlight and Autumnlily instantly went back to their books, skimming for ways to move faster than normal people.

Then I started thinking about what the books said about vampires. I quickly flipped to that section, levitating the book and turning the pages without touching it. The others caught on quickly. I read about how fast they were in comparison to us, not very, how strong they were compared to us, not very, and how strategic they were compared to us, not at all, they would barge into something, counting on strength, speed, and venom. If you took those away, you had an automatic win. If we could outrun and outmaneuver them, we would win a fight hands-down. I looked at the spot in the book that was all about fighting. Silverfire was doing the same, and we tried a few swipes in midair.

Suddenly, my fingers stiffened into claw shapes, they hurt like cramps and I quickly glanced at my Clanmates. They were all flinching and holding their hands except for Silverfire. She was more focused on the book in front of her, but her fingers obviously hurt too. She muttered something that even I couldn't hear and carefully extended her arm, slowly flexing her fingers. Suddenly strange objects curled from her fingertips. We all glanced at each other, then slowly did the same. I felt the pain of the cramps and tried not to flinch, just keep the motions smooth. Suddenly, the pain shut off like a switch had been flipped. I glanced at my hands, unwilling to believe what I saw. CLAWS!? I glanced at my friends and saw they were just as amazed. Flowerleaf and Autumnlily looked terrified, but Waterlight and Silverfire looked curious. I quickly looked back at the book and saw clearly that some/most of the fighting moves included claws. I carefully climbed to my feet, trying not to scratch myself or my friends. These freaking things were 3 inches long! I walked carefully to a tree, and then with a single swipe, dismantled a few branches. The claws cut through the thick bark like a knife cuts through warm butter! They looked dangerous, but my sudden thought was 'how in the heck are we supposed to act like normal Twolegs with **_these_**?' I carefully thought about what my cats did to put their claws away. I saw easily how relaxed my hand was so I carefully tensed it until the claws slipped back into my fingers. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but they were away. As I relaxed my fingers again, the claws didn't reappear. I quickly started experimenting with exactly how fast I could whip the claws out and in. The piercing pain didn't come back, and my fingers were just minorly stiff, but that I could deal with that. The others quickly put their claws away, and then went back to looking up different things. They obviously didn't want to talk about that and I was with them.

I glanced at the combat section and saw all of them included teeth. My natural reaction was 'what'? I was entirely lost. I found a timeline of what happens to Warriors once they turn 14. I looked at the flares and saw quickly that they were only on the senses and that they were permanent. Also I saw they were called 'Zaps' officially. Our senses would always be super amplified. I saw the claws and saw clearly that our teeth would sharpen themselves to points, but we could focus and dull them back to totally normal Twoleg teeth. Oh joy, another thing to worry about. We could learn fighting moves with teeth included and they would hurt when they were sharp. I quickly told the others this and they groaned. I knew what they meant. The book said nothing about how much any of this would hurt.

Suddenly something that said 'flying' caught my eye. It was way farther down the timeline, but it said something about growing wings. I skimmed and it said 3 things I was concerned with 1.) They would itch, not hurt, while they grew. 2.) They would fold to our backs, so we could blend in. 3.) We would actually be able to fly, and it would be instinctual. That actually sounded pretty cool. I didn't point that out, but I was confident the others would find it on their own.

I looked up 'flare' and saw that the official definition was when Clan kits start to actually look like Clan people rather than Twolegs. From what I understood of that, our appearances would change, but we would be able to change them back for any length of time. I was nervous. How were we supposed to do this calmly? I quickly spread the news by telling the others the page number. They read the whole page and were just as nervous as me. We decided wordlessly that we would cross that bridge when we came to it. Until then, we would just train in combat.

Over the next few weeks, we trained hard. Waterlight was a complete natural at combat. I wasn't quite as good as her, but I was definitely in second. I helped everyone with healing plants and survival skills. I was a natural sneak. I could practically glide across the ground, and I couldn't even hear myself. I scared my Clan multiple times in that way. We all trained in the things we weren't good at and pretty soon, we could all fight as good as Waterlight, navigate as well as Silverfire, everyone else could use herbs and sneak as well as me, and use our powers as well as professionally trained Warriors. Autumnlily was the best as extending her senses. She could smell 10 miles, hear 20 miles and, generally sense what would be a good or bad direction to go. We could even figure out when the others were lying. I had a feeling that would come in handier with Twolegs. We could all focus easily and flare in a nanosecond. All the flares changed were our hair and eye colors, but it was still super cool.

Silverfire lived up to her name; her hair flared silver and her eyes glowed orange. Flowerleaf's flared hair was a pretty shade of brownish-red, and her eyes were an awesome green. Autumnlily had dark brown hair, and light blue eyes when she flared. That was a cool combination. Waterlight's hair was a light shade of yellow that wasn't far from her natural hair color, and her eyes were a creepy shade of glowing purple. It looked cool, and she liked it, but it freaked me out the first time. My own hair and eyes reminded me of Snowstripe. My hair was the same color, except without the white streak, and my eyes were the exact same shade of fire gold. Silverfire was the first to see mine and she screamed. I glared at her until she calmed down enough to explain.

I just left myself looking freaky, I learned how to look normal, but if I had a chance, I just stayed flared. I liked the look. Flowerleaf and Waterlight kept theirs too, and we got used to seeing the others flared enough not to freak out when we did.

We also learned how to control fire. We were all tied in skills on that one. It was natural, easy. Waterlight was good for a lot of fire, I was good for delicacy, I could make little ribbons of fire appear and make them go everywhere all at once. Silverfire could turn the fire silver, Flowerleaf could put the flames right next to a flower in a thin film and not burn it, and Autumnlily could actually form things from the fire. She formed a flower and actually made a flower appear. She was just as clueless as the rest of us on that one. (This was a time our lie-detector skills came in handy. She really was clueless.)

Eventually, we figured we could stick around towns safely again. We had finally figured out Warrior transportation too. We could either run (we could go 14 times the speed of light if we tried) we had to estimate a little on that one. Or if we didn't feel like running, we could use heat waves to teleport. Since that was too long to say on a regular basis, we called it 'flashing.' We could all do both so usually, we just voted. Our wings hadn't come in yet, (we were all calm with that fact now) so we couldn't fly although since vampires couldn't, that would probably be the best idea. We were all slightly nervous about being around Twolegs again, and worried that we might slip up with the Warrior terms. We figured that would be a dead giveaway that we were Warriors to any vamps in the area.

Our basic idea was to take off in a random direction until we got to a town. If we all thought it seemed okay, we'd stay awhile, but as soon as we got the barest hint that there even might be a vampire around, we were out of there. We'd all agreed one thing: no close relationships with Twolegs. They were too delicate and we weren't sure if we could do that much without hurting anyone.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Ch 8 Twoleg Town, First Time in Awhile_**

Autumnlily took charge, as usual, guiding us away from the school and any vampires in the immediate area. We started east, but Flowerleaf sensed that something bad would happen if we kept going that way, so we switched to north. We found what we thought would be the perfect town: small, neat, easy to run from, and plenty of hiding spots, if needed. I was perfectly fine with staying outside at night, but the others hadn't figured out the secret to bug repellent, so we went to the motel. We rented a room, careful to find the best deal because we didn't have all that much money. We did odd jobs around town when we needed extra cash-we refused to steal-and did pretty well in school.

In school, we registered ourselves. We did get lucky when they did not ask for a parent signature. I found that a little disturbing, but I didn't complain. I just left myself a note to watch the principal closely. We all ended up in most of the same classes, so we could watch out for each other.

Food wise, we were set. We might have been able to change into giant cats, according to the book, but we didn't feel like eating deer, so we just went to the supermarket. (Plus, we hadn't exactly figured that out yet.) We got a grill and LOTS of meat. We had a different type of meat for every meal and always packed our lunches. Lunch was always the same. We went in, sat down by ourselves, and no one bothered us.

Since we could hear them we knew what they all thought of us, and let me say, it was very colorful, and not at all pleasant. It was bad enough that I wished, for the first time, that I was a normal Twoleg. It was normally a very peaceful way to live. I was just annoyed at how many Twolegs were total jerks to anyone a little different who preferred to stick to themselves. You'd think we threatened them with a gun for StarClan's sake! (StarClan-Warrior ancestors who watch over the Clans from Silverpelt, Silverpelt-The Milky Way.) I finally figured out how to tune them out completely, but it took several moons. (Moon-month) During that time, we were all annoyed. We were determined to stick to ourselves and not hurt anyone, but these morons were **_not _**making it easy on us.

We did reasonably well in school itself, I was never any good at math, but apparently Warrior brains work faster than Twoleg brains. The teacher said one thing and I was six steps ahead within seconds.

One thing we had to watch out for was we couldn't be seen moving faster than Twoleg speed, and on top of that, we couldn't let them see us teleporting. Most of the classrooms had bathrooms right down the hall, so we would slip into one of them, leave the door unlocked, teleport, and get to class faster.

This was also a bonus because some of the Twolegs who considered themselves 'tougher' than us tried multiple times to beat us up. Most of the teachers were scared of them, so we were on our own all together. That was annoying because it seemed like everyone just let them do whatever. I told the other SunClan girls that, as far as I was concerned, if they tried to beat me up, I was going to fight back.

"I'll let them throw the first punch, and I won't seriously hurt them, but I'll give them a few bruises to remember me by." I practically snarled at our bus stop one Friday. Flowerleaf instantly started arguing.

"Cloudfire, the teachers are too scared to argue with them. **_You'll _**get in trouble, not those mouse-brained, fish-faced, snake-hearted badgers, although if anyone deserves that Lily Academy, it's them." She said quickly, trying to talk me out of standing by what I'd said. (FYI She failed.)

The bus came then, and we sat in our normal space, the first two seats. The bus driver was really nice and let us all sit together. I thought it was because she could see how much everyone else disliked us. It was as obvious as the fact that we weren't normal. I liked the bus rides more than any part of the day because we had someone to talk to, outside of our Clan, who wasn't too scared of the jerks to actually be nice.

As we got off the bus, I could tell something was wrong. I glanced at my Clanmates and saw they were adjusting their movements microscopically towards defense. I followed their example and we darted to our class, feeling sick with worry. I saw the jerks around, they kept sliding closer, looking ready to attack, which creeped me out. I stood by what I had said at the bus stop, I _would _defend myself, and my Clanmates. They made their move in Social Studies.

I was listening to the teacher, as always, but I was also keeping tabs on the idiots' movements. Finally, one stood. He was their leader and the stupidest one of all. He thought he was so tough it wasn't even funny. We'd actually seen him trying to punch his way through a cement block. I was thinking **_Hate to tell you this, man, but we could do that in our sleep. _**He looked at the teacher, who froze, looking terrified. Then the teacher stepped over and pulled the fire alarm. I was momentarily stunned. Everyone else got out of their seats, looking at me like I was the corpse in a funeral. Then I understood. He was getting everyone outside so he could beat me up! I got up, completely calm, and joined the line.

Everyone else knew what was going on, and formed a giant circle out on the lawn. I joined my Clanmates, and told them in whispers what was going on. He'd picked a good time; we'd been in separate classrooms. What he hadn't been counting on was Warrior skill. He wanted to deal with us one by one, but we found each other too fast for him to make a move. I could see his face out of the corner of my eye and almost burst out laughing. He looked like a 6-year-old who hadn't gotten their own way! I gave the other Warrior girls the signal to look one-by-one. They all barely kept from laughing too.

When he had everyone's attention, he started. He went on and on in circles about how he was the toughest guy in town, how he was in charge and how everyone had to obey him, no matter what. Then he told us that we seemed like the type of girls who needed taught a lesson in these fields. I quickly glanced at the others. Their expressions mirrored my thoughts. **_NO WAY ARE WE TAKING THIS LYING DOWN! _**He called his muscle guys forward and told them to get us. I did the stupid thing.

"Are you so scared of us that you won't even fight us yourself?" I yelled, giving his tiny brain a major workout, there was no way he could back down without looking like a coward. His answer was delayed by the normal kids stunned chattering.

Then he decided not to answer. He whispered to 8 of his muscle guys and they came towards us, splitting up so they were two for every girl. Flowerleaf dodged with incredible ease, Autumnlily punched one in the face and dodged him while his buddy tripped over him, Silverfire moved slower, but with strategy, Waterlight was a blur, and there was no Twoleg on this earth who could've stopped her. The leader decided to deal with me himself. I kept my gaze steady as he stepped towards me. I was determined to not throw the first punch. As he came within arm's length, I maneuvered away, just to annoy him. He stepped after me quickly, but I dodged again. Finally, he swung, moving at Twoleg speed, of course. It was easy to see the blow coming in time to dodge. I ducked, then whipped up and punched him in the same microsecond. I didn't hurt him more than stunning him for a few seconds. Then he started going all-out. He tried punching, kicking, and every dirty trick in the book, but I was way ahead of him. I saw his moves and everything that was wrong with them.

Then Flowerleaf screamed. I gave him one last punch and darted to her side, careful to go top Twoleg speed and no more. She was looking at the people across the field. I could see from here the pale white skin of vampires. I quickly signaled the other girls who looked up in nanoseconds, followed my glance, and took off in the direction of the motel. I followed, running faster than any Twoleg could even see. At the precise moment, all I was worried about was getting out of the state. We all packed in microseconds, said bye to the motel owners and thanked them for their kindness. Then we bolted. We didn't stop for at least 20 minutes and considering how fast we were going, I'd venture a guess we ran around the world a few times.

When we finally slowed, we found a large city. I pulled out the minicomputer for the first time since I left Lily Wilderness Academy and handed it to Autumnlily. She instantly got to work, programming it so no one could find it. Then I looked up a GPS. Everyone else was tense. I easily found us on the map. My brain stopped working for at least 7 seconds when I saw where we were. **_CHINA?!_** I hadn't seen a drop of water and yet we crossed the ocean? I quickly pushed the thought from my mind. We focused on the U.S. and flashed there easily. Suddenly, I thought of something I really should have thought of before.

"Uh…girls? I just thought of something, most of us have siblings, what if they're Warriors too? Plus, we got lucky at the other place; they had uniforms, what do we do if the next school doesn't? Just wear camo all the time? We need to get regular outfits. We can flash to our old places with a buddy, check on our siblings, and get regular street clothes. Everyone cool with that?" I asked quickly. Flowerleaf turned pale. She had three siblings. I was worried about my younger sister, and I didn't know about the others. "Okay, Silverfire, you come with me, Flowerleaf, Autumnlily, and Waterlight go you three go together, and everyone, grab any cash you have saved up. Do not steal from your parents or siblings, but grab what you can." Everyone nodded quickly and we were flashing in a heartbeat.

We went to Silverfire's place first. She grabbed clothes and the little bit of cash she had, and we slipped off, flashing quickly to my house. I slipped into my room effortlessly, gathered clothes that were casual and the few dollars I had. I kept the combat boots, but I grabbed sneakers too. I slid downstairs silently, following my sister's scent. I found her with my fake mom, who was teaching her all about vampires! I was totally silent, and could have heard everything they were saying if I wanted to, but I tuned them out. Kristin turned halfway and I thought she looked a little paler than she should. I took a half step forward, meaning to say something, but she opened her mouth to ask a question and I saw her sharp, venomous, little fangs. I froze for a half a microsecond, and then took off at Warrior speed. I met Silverfire, but refused to mention Kristin.

When the others met up with us, they all had similar stories. Their siblings were vamps and their parents were the teachers. I said about the fangs, Flowerleaf nodded miserably, her siblings were a deathly vampire pale, and had actually chased her and Autumnlily out of the house.

Luckily, the other girls were better with money than I was, so when we put it all together we had about $100. I quickly thought about how in StarClan's name we were going to survive on a hundred bucks. _Get a job, _was the obvious answer. I was hesitant to bring that up though.

We took off in a totally random direction, stopping at the first town that we came to. We decided not to stay, knowing that the vamps would be on our trail, now that they were sure we were alive. We bought some meat, paying cash of course, and left town on the next bus. We got off at the last stop, a national park. It was pretty cool actually. We all managed to land jobs in a few short days and were star employees. We made enough money that we could each buy a tent and basic supplies to share so we just stayed away from the actual camping areas of the park. We started saving since we were wary of banks. A Warrior's protection was better than any vault by far. All the other girls were happy in the park, and  
I couldn't blame them. The trees were huge and apparently a SunClan Warrior's skill set included climbing. It was as easy as running and just as exhilarating. The trees were a hundred feet tall minimum with plenty of branches and brush to hide in.

I don't know why, but we enjoyed spying on hikes. We'd pack up our stuff, climb a tree, and jump from branch to branch as we followed them. They never looked up which made things so easy, it was almost boring. The best part by far was the fact that the park was hundreds of miles long and wide. We figured that any vampire would have a while to look before they found us. We found out that this was not true a few seasons later. (season-year)


	10. Chapter 10

**_Ch 9 Our First Battle_**

We decided after a while that when the vampires did come, we were determined to stay. We hadn't really liked the old town, so we'd used the vampires as an excuse to leave plus, we hadn't really been ready altogether. We liked the forest and we were NOT leaving. With any luck, the vampires expected the untrained, unskilled, cowardly girls they'd met at the Lily Wilderness Academy, but they weren't expecting what they would get: 5 highly trained, fiercely protective, extremely ready Warriors.

We could sense they were coming before they hit a hundred miles out. We wanted to be prepared for them coming, so we'd started doing what the Warrior cats did: border patrols. We'd worked out a general border, which basically means 'we figured out how much land we could cover and hold if it came to a fight.'

Each of us was strong, but we hadn't ever fought a vampire, we'd only practiced on each other. However, since we had practiced on each other`, we knew each other's moves as well as we knew our own. In any situation, we knew exactly how each different Warrior would react. In a fight situation, Autumnlily would be trying to watch the gaps in the border that we couldn't cover, Waterlight would be front and center, Flowerleaf would be protecting as many of our backs as she could, Silverfire would be dodging around the enemies with a speed that could make a Warrior dizzy, she was a silver shadow, barely a blur, and I would be keeping as many enemies as I could off of my Clanmates.

I used to be a loner, but having a Clan wasn't half bad. You could always depend on them to have your back. I liked thinking about what Bluestar told Rusty in the Warriors book 'you'll always have the fellowship of a Clan, even when you hunt alone.' It turned out to be very true, I could always count on the other girls and they could count on me.

Then the day came. Autumnlily was on patrol, and then suddenly she came flying back into camp like all the cats of the Dark Forest were behind her. We all jumped to our feet at rocket speed, ready in a heartbeat. When she calmed down enough-which took approximately 2 seconds-she told us that she sensed at least a hundred vamps strong. We instantly darted to the border.

We separated quickly, Autumnlily darted off to the right side, Flowerleaf slipped off behind us a few meters, Waterlight stood, hidden, but ready and center. Silverfire and I were on opposite sides of Waterlight. I was on her left, Silverfire on her right.

The vamps were loud enough that even if we'd been asleep 15 miles away, we'd have still heard them coming with time to prepare. They were noisy! We were hidden, hoping for a sneak attack on our part. We figured our scent was around here enough that they might not notice the freshness of it.

When they came into view, my heart missed multiple beats. Kristin was in the front lines! She might be a psycho vampire who wanted to kill me, but there was no way in StarClan's name that I could kill her!

I heard Flowerleaf's slight whimper of terror from behind me, I turned silently, and then followed her line of vision. I had seen her siblings only once before, but I recognized them with surprising ease.

Autumnlily slipped over beside me and stared at the vamps, her face nervous. Her eyes flickered silently down the line, and then her nervous expression blended into one of pure terror. She silently pointed to a girl down the line. I glanced at her blankly before she signed '**_THAT'S MY SISTER!'_** I knew in a microsecond that none of us could kill our siblings. I suddenly had an idea. I quickly signaled the other Warrior girls to get their attention, and then signed '**_CLAW AND BITE ONLY! DO NOT KILL! WE'LL SHOW THEM NOT TO MESS WITH US THEN GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO LEAVE! FOLLOW THE WARRIOR CODE!' _**The other girls looked relieved, Waterlight nodded, the others followed. Then they came past our spot.

Kristin led the way, following our scent. Flowerleaf's brother suddenly sniffed the air, turning slowly. He nodded towards Waterlight's hiding spot. She signaled frantically to us and I gave the signal.

We lunged from our hiding spots with a Warrior's grace, speed, and strength. I smashed straight into Flowerleaf's brother and gave him enough scratches to know for absolutely positive not to mess with us again. I looked around just in time, another vampire lunged straight for my throat, but I zipped around her and smacked her in the head with enough force to smash through 10 meters of cement. I think it's safe to say that she had a headache for a while. Silverfire was fighting 7 at once and she looked like she was doing totally great, she was doing her silver shadow effect that always made everyone too dizzy to think straight. She looked like she was having a great time as they grabbed at her blindly. I looked off towards the others who were clawing through whichever vampires got in their way.

Suddenly Flowerleaf yowled in fear and pain. I darted to her side and slashed the vampire that was holding her arm. It fell to her side at an awkward angle. I quickly told her to heal herself then get back in the fight. While she focused, I hurriedly stood up. As the vampires lunged for my wounded friend, I fought with all the power of LionClan. As I protected her, the vampires kept coming.

I realized now that when Autumnlily told us they were 'a hundred strong' that means 'at least a hundred'. I'd been sure until then that we would win. As soon as that clicked, I wasn't at all sure.

As Flowerleaf lunged to her feet, she took out a vampire that would have had my head. I turned back to see all the others fighting in pairs except Silverfire.

Waterlight and Autumnlily had teamed up and Flowerleaf and I were now fighting back-to-back. The vamps had moved into three groups. The stupid ones all went for Silverfire, and were taken down in nanoseconds. The slightly smarter ones came at Flowerleaf and me, and we sent them running before they could say 'yipe.' The smartest vampires were ganging up on Waterlight and Autumnlily, but even they were holding their own.

As I watched, they teamed up on my Warrior friends, I felt like I was about to explode because of how mad I was that I couldn't help them directly because I had about 10 after me. I felt like I had pure fire running through my veins instead of blood. Flowerleaf maneuvered expertly away, drawing vampires with her.

I lunged through midair instinctively, twisting past 6 vampires at least and clawing a bunch more. As I flew, I felt something shift. When I landed, I landed on four paws versus two feet. I didn't spare a microsecond to wonder what in StarClan's name had just happened, I just lunged back into the fight, slashing vamps and sending them into the bushes before they could turn around. A few turned when they heard their comrades scream and then bolted.

I looked at my Warrior Clanmates, suddenly worried that they might attack me next, but they had transformed too. Now that I could actually see someone besides myself, I could tell we'd turned into giant cats. I started multitasking, size wise I would estimate we were about the size of the wolves in Twilight; our fur colors matched our hair when we flared and our eyes matched too. I got all this by looking at my Clanmates in the few nanoseconds I had to spare between vamp attacks. I was actually comfortable as a cat; it was as natural as climbing or running.

Just as we sent the last vampire screaming into the undergrowth, they sent the next wave. We might have been a little tired, but we were still more determined than ever. We sent them running into the undergrowth before they could get through it properly. As they left I signaled the others, we easily transformed back to human. It was just as instinctive as the other transformation, almost automatic. They didn't send any more, but we kept up the border patrol just in case.

I took the next shift of patrol because, rather than draining me, the battle had left me with energy to spare. I kept my senses on full range, being overcautious. I casually hiked around the border, feeling completely energized. I took the high trail, in other words, I jumped around in the trees, getting a vantage point.

The only thing I worried about was how many other Warriors might have already or might be dying at the vampires' schools. I finally headed back to camp, feeling annoyed that we couldn't help them.

As I headed back, I smelled cooked meat a half mile out. I looked carefully for Twolegs, and then flashed back the rest of the way. I got there as the other girls started eating. They grinned laughingly, and then Silverfire signed '**_WHAT DID YOU GET LOST?' _**I grinned back; they knew I was usually the first  
one ready to eat, so they nagged me playfully whenever they beat me there.

We'd learned very early in our Warrior training not to get mad so I didn't let it bug me. When we did have issues, just turn on the TV and look for either forest fires or volcanoes, anything that even MIGHT have fire involved. We tried very hard not to do anything like that, but I never was into history, so I didn't know if a Clan like ours was ever behind something like that.

We usually just talked about whatever at mealtimes. Today I brought up a question I was just dying to ask.

"Do you think there are other Clans out there like ours? It would be totally cool if we could find a bigger group of Warriors from our Clan element or whatever." Flowerleaf responded first.

"First off, Warriors don't do Clan elements. It's like the Warrior Clans in the books, but with different names. ThunderClan, SunClan, WindClan, StormClan, ShadowClan, ShadeClan, RiverClan, StreamClan. StarClan's the same though." She said calmly. I answered with a laugh.

"I don't do history; you know that as well as any cat." I said as the other girls burst out laughing. I still don't know how Flowerleaf managed to keep a whisker-straight face while saying that. I would have said that it was as impossible as me loving to swim. (SO NOT HAPPENING!)

We stopped conversation and finished eating. Then Flowerleaf left on patrol. I got drowsy and curled down for a catnap, Waterlight went off to do whatever, Silverfire and Autumnlily played cards quietly across the clearing. (I don't know why, I could sleep with noise.) Though I didn't mean to, I ended up sleeping all night.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Ch 10 Wings now THAT'S something new_**

The next morning, I woke up and for some reason, felt even more tired than when I'd gone to sleep. On top of that I was just in a bad mood all morning, and I had no patience whatsoever. I usually didn't have much, but today, I had ABSOLUTLY NONE. Flowerleaf asked if I wanted to go on patrol with her and it took all my determination to answer calmly 'I think I'd rather go by myself later, why don't you ask Autumnlily?'I tried to say it nicely enough not to hurt her feelings, but I failed.

As soon as I saw her face, I flashed. I didn't really think clearly where I wanted to go, so I ended up in a tall tree which suited me perfectly. I hid in the branches and tried to get the most annoying itch, like a flea you just could not reach to save your life. My back actually hurt, but it still itched. I growled in annoyance and conjured some fire because I just felt like being alone for a while.

Silverfire came and found me and she had her Warrior pouch she'd made. She figured out how to make it magic so we could carry huge stuff in a tiny sack the size of a change purse. She'd made one for each of us and they not only reflected our personality, they were fire colors. Mine was totally fire because that was my natural attitude. When she showed up, I was slightly less annoyed. I was at least willing to talk without biting her head off. I explained what was going on and she whipped out her book. I of course couldn't see so she told me the page number.

I flipped there with only half my attention, but when I got to the page, it got my full attention easy because at the top of the page was a single word '**_Wings_**' I was stunned, but I read on. Signs: tiredness, irritability, itchiness, I felt like I was reading through a medical report. Silverfire grinned at me almost triumphantly. I was sure I looked worried. She almost seemed to read my mind.

"Don't worry, I'll explain to Flowerleaf and when you're in a better mood you can apologize yourself, OK?" She asked, trying to be helpful. I gave her a weak, relieved smile and nodded. She vanished, and I moved, trying to get comfortable against the tree to wait for Silverfire to come back. It wasn't easy in the slightest. Now I couldn't put my back flat up against the tree because it bothered me if I did. I finally managed to find a half comfortable position when Silverfire and Flowerleaf arrived.

I glanced at Flowerleaf, feeling worse by the second, but she grinned. She wasn't the type of person to hold a grudge thank StarClan for that! I stammered an apology, feeling even worse that I hadn't really thought about what I would actually say to her. She cut me off with an easy 'apology accepted' wave of her hand. I was fully relieved. She easily hopped down from the tree, dodging branches with ease and signed '**_CATCH YOU LATER!'_**

****Silverfire and I took the long way back, and by the time we got there, everyone else knew. I was relieved for three reasons now 1.)Flowerleaf didn't hate me 2.)She saved me an awkward explanation 3.)Everyone else knew that if I acted like a badger with its fur clawed off, I wasn't trying to be mean. I promised quickly that I wouldn't use this awkward situation as an excuse to be mean, and I meant that. Despite how annoyed I was, I tried to at least be as nice as usual. Luckily, the whole thing lasted less than a week.

We read about how the wings would work and what we'd be able to do. That one was pretty obvious: fly. I was quick to agree to wait for the others because I'll admit, I might not have been the same girl I had been at Lily Academy, but I still wasn't brave enough to try something like this on my own. I was scared out of my skin and then some. (No I did not mean that literally.)

We still weren't sure how exactly this whole thing organized, so we just waited. A half-moon (half-moon=two weeks) later, I asked Flowerleaf a question and she gave me a look that would have melted rock. I quickly flashed away, hoping that it was a flying issue and not an 'I hate you' one. I volunteered to go on patrol just to get out of camp.

I liked the freedom of the forest; the camp was nice if you wanted someone to talk to, but if you just wanted to be on your own for a while, the forest was definitely the place to be. I followed the trail that I had memorized by now. It led up to a cool lookout spot that was fully amazing as long as you weren't scared of heights.

There was an awesome rock up there that was too steep for Twolegs to climb, but amazing for a Warrior. We just climbed a nearby tree and jumped over to it. Since it was totally flat except for the edge, which formed a natural barrier between us and the long, long, long, very long fall to the rocky bottom below. We called it Lookout Rock.

I hopped over and leaned on the barrier, watching for vampires, enjoying the view, and thinking about the Warriors book series. The Clans sounded awesome, but I liked what the other girls and I had now. We were as loyal as any Clan, we followed the Warrior Code, just like the others, and we stood and fought for what we believed in and what meant something to us.

Eventually, Autumnlily came and explained what I'd guessed: Flowerleaf, wings, not in the best of moods. We just chatted for a while about random stuff, enjoying the view. Finally she laughed. I glanced over, totally lost.

"Just think, this all started because you mouthed off to a teacher," she said, nodding to the horizon. "We would've been dead by now if you hadn't. It's kind of cool, how things any Twoleg would think is nuts, is what we do every day." I grinned.

"And here I thought it was a bad thing to make people hate you." I said jokingly. She shrugged laughingly.

When we went back to camp, Flowerleaf was still in a terrible mood. She snapped at me for glancing at her out of the corner of my eye. We were all relieved when she got over it and was in a better mood. She was, sadly enough, not the worst. Silverfire was actually pretty normal, just a little more impatient than usual. Autumnlily was irritable, but better than the rest of us. Waterlight, we were flat-out scared of. We actually stole the extra knives and anything sharp, hard, or blunt, from her bag the first night. When she wasn't as scary, we went and dug it all up from where we had it.

We'd also managed to scrounge up some super awesome (and scarily convenient) black waterproof vests with slits in the back of that we could slip our wings in and out of.

I barely had the nerve, but I carefully slipped my wings out. I hadn't even gotten the nerve to look at them myself. Luckily, extending them was as easy and as natural as extending an arm. I carefully unfurled them to their full length. Silverfire measured, and they were 13 feet long tip to tip! I finally glanced over my shoulder. My wings were, as Silverfire said, 13 feet long, and the same night-black color of my hair when I flared. They looked like black hawk wings, covered in feathers. I actually thought they were pretty cool. One by one, the others extended theirs. They all matched our hair when we flared, so we got an idea of what to expect. Finally, we decided to try them out.

"Okay, they all look nice. Now who wants to see if they actually **_work? _**Waterlight said. Even her tone was dangerous. I have no clue why, but I volunteered.

We darted to LookoutRock and I was about three seconds from chickening out when Silverfire offered to go to the bottom in case something went wrong. I gave her a quick, grateful glance and watched as she darted to the one bigger rock below.

I took a deep breath, looking up so I didn't accidently lean too far and fall. Then, I carefully stepped up on the barrier, trying to ignore what the other girls were saying (taking bets on whether I'd chicken out or not). Then, I stepped off.

My first reaction was complete and utter terror. Then common sense kicked in. I whipped my wings out like a parachute, mentally screaming in pain and making a note to tell the others NOT to do that. After the agony in my shoulder muscles dulled to a simple throb, I flapped, hard. I also went soaring upwards, automatically adjusting for the best updraft. Waterlight grinned as I whipped past. I quickly pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote:

DO NOT UNFURL WINGS SUDDENLY. CAUSES EXTREME PAIN. TRY THIS IT ROCKS!

Then I flew back around, getting a feel for flying and dropping the sheet straight into Flowerleaf's hand. She read it to the others and they extended their wings. Then they jumped.

Within moments they were all soaring in crazy loops, spins and pretty much everything you could think of. Silverfire sprinted back up the slope, extending her wings on the way, and didn't even stop, she just jumped.

We watched, hoping she'd figure out the other part of flying. She did. She whipped up near us, grinning easily.

We all maneuvered so we were close enough to her each other, but not knocking each other out of the sky. The next basic question was 'how do we land?' I quickly opened my wings so I drifted down slowly. I landed with ease, then thought of something else.

I stepped into a clearing and jumped, flapping at the same time. It was definitely harder, but I could, reasonably easily, get into the air from a dead standstill. I explained this to the other girls and they drifted down and learned it themselves.

While they did that, I flew higher. Then I saw an eagle. I watched it carefully, trying to copy its movements. When it dove, I saw how its wings folded to its back, while still allowing air to flow around them. I flew even higher, and then dove. I waited until I was literally a foot from the ground to open my wings and go shooting forward.

Flowerleaf watched, intrigued. She flapped higher, calling for me to do that again. The others followed, excited.

I watched the eagle, gesturing for them to do the same. As it dove for prey, I pointed out what it did with its wings, pulling them closer, making near invisible motions, things that made the difference between flying and falling. Then everyone tried. Pretty soon, we were flying like birds, in more literal ways than one.

Flying was absolutely exhilarating. We just flew over the forest until sunset, watching the trees flow beneath us. It was an incredible feeling. We flew back in the light of the sunset. When we got to Lookout Rock, we landed, curling our wings in around us. They were part of us and therefore sent off heat. They were like natural heated blankets.

After sunset, we flashed back to camp. Flapping wings all afternoon was surprisingly tiring. We all got ready for bed except Flowerleaf, who was on guard duty tonight. I didn't envy her in the slightest. I still felt like I was flying as I drifted off to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**_Ch 11 New Members J_**

****After the wings, we got into a pretty straightforward pattern; get up in the morning, breakfast, morning patrol, random whatever, lunch, more random whatever, dinner, evening patrol, sleep. Actually, it was kind of boring. We mostly explored and flew (that never got old.)

Since we were the whole way across the country from where I used to live, every now and then I'd fly back and see if I could find any of my old friends. I never talked to them, but I checked up on them. I used the minicomputer from the school to keep my different online accounts working.

One day we all went on patrol together. Silverfire was our 'eyes in the sky' as we usually called it. (She got an eagle-eye view NOT fair!) We spread out enough that we could see a long distance but we could still hand-signal each other if we saw anything. I mostly depended on my different senses to figure out what was going on.

Suddenly I caught a quick whiff of something. It was so close to nothing that I couldn't figure out what it was. I signaled the other girls as fast as my hand would move. They instantaneously blended into the different trees, and Silverfire circled higher. (Apparently since trees could burn and we were from the Clan of Fire we could go through wood. Who would've guessed?) I blended into a random oak tree and slipped up the side to take a look. I saw some branches moving in a nearly invisible breeze, but I had the feeling that it wasn't just a breeze.

I jumped to the next tree easily and slid down to take a closer look. I could see a silvery gray glimmer of color through the branches there were two pure white spots near the ground and since I figured that it must be a Warrior, it was probably their paws. A flicker of movement to my left, I glanced towards it quickly, but it seemed to have vanished.

Then the breeze changed direction. I quickly inhaled, trying to figure out the strange smell. I almost recognized it, I knew it, but I couldn't place where I'd smelled it before.

Suddenly a mountain of silver fur, white paws, and ice blue eyes flew out of the bushes. I recognized the scent as I practically flew up the tree because she startled me. Her name was Kalli. She was one of the girls from Lily Wilderness Academy that we'd seen the file for the night we escaped. She was the only other Warrior there besides us, and I'd felt bad about not really taking her with us when we ran away.

She darted up the tree after me and I signaled the other girls not to attack while almost screaming in terror.

Then another flash of silver fur darted after her. Now I was just confused. I quickly jumped to the next tree and yelled for her to stop chasing me. She gave me a quick confused glance and I realized that she wouldn't recognize me because A.) I was flared B.) It's hard to remember people out of where you met them C.) I looked nothing like the same girl and D.) I hadn't really talked to her that much.

I quickly asked her to shift back and she easily got her balance on two legs. The other cat, who turned out to be a newer girl from the Lily Academy from after we got out, was a 9-year-old kid named Caily. She might be small compared to us, but she was obviously as tough as they came. They told us that they had pretty much the same story we did. Listen in, figure out that they were toast, escape, take files and books, and study up on their own, trying to figure out what to do next. I asked what their warrior names were and they just looked at me, totally blank. I quickly explained and the flipped to the page. Kalli's was Icefeather and Caily's was Stormpaw. We also had them check their Clans. They were both in SunClan so that totally rocked.

We'd looked at the one chart and it said that names went by age 0-6 kit (second part of name kit), 6-12 apprentice (second part of name paw), 12+ Warrior/Elder your choice.

Icefeather was a really good description of how she looked: her fur was silvery- gray like some bird species, and her eyes were actually a pretty shade of ice-blue. That kind of creeped me out because that was the same way Scourge's eyes were described, except hers were warm. You could tell just by looking at her for a microsecond that she was a nice person.

Stormpaw's name was just as accurate, or at least the storm part was. Her fur was all dark gray like a storm cloud, and her eyes were a glowing emerald green. That looked totally awesome together.

We all joined up. We had plenty of supplies and the new girls brought some of their own. (And yes, this is still an all-girls group.) Icefeather knew Stormpaw better than any of us and she was a total Warriors fan so she agreed to train Stormpaw as an apprentice. Silverfire, Flowerleaf, and Autumnlily helped if either of them didn't understand something and Waterlight and I kept up the patrols.

Pretty soon, it felt like we'd all been Clanmates since forever. Icefeather and Stormpaw fit right in, and they were just as nuts as the rest of us. They already had their wings, so that was a real bonus, but they hadn't tried them yet. We took them to Lookout Rock and they were flying in no time. (Literally, they didn't wait for us; they just jumped and rocked it!)

Finally, we started debating what we hadn't thought of all this time. Who in StarClan's name would actually be in charge? Did we need a leader? We'd been doing just fine without one. Were we actually going to do the different ceremonies that the Warriors did? Did we need a medicine cat? If we chose a leader, would they really get nine lives? (With our lives, you never knew.) The one thing we all agreed on was we wouldn't end up like Mossfire and Jumpfoot who fought to be the leader of ShadowClan in the books and ended up killing each other. We were a Clan, first and foremost, and we'd stand by each other, with or without a leader, medicine cat, or traditions.


	13. Chapter 13

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